CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE COMMON BEE. 



PAGE 



General character of the bee — Huber's account of the bee — 

 Butler's female monarchy — Skill of the bees in music — 

 Powers given to the bees by Huber — System of Schirach 

 — Objections to it — The queen bee lays every egg in the 

 hive — Contrariety of opinion respecting the bee — Opinions 

 of the German apiarians — German bee gardens — Errone- 

 ous management of Bushman — Bonner's discovery of little 

 drones — The common bees take no part in the multiplica- 

 tion of their species — The common bee, according to 

 Huber, is a female — Arguments against it — The common 

 bee a decided neuter — Different species of bees — Their 

 history according to Huber — The working bees are en- 

 dowed with ovaries — Eggs generated in some and not hi 

 others — The administration of royal jelly — Efficacy of 

 royal jelly — The female workers, according to Huber, 

 lay only male eggs— Discovery of Mademoiselle Jurine — 

 Common bees are imperfect females — Their imperfection 

 investigated — Discovery of Mr. Epignes — Organization of 

 the common bee — Erroneous statement of Huber in regard 

 to the collection of farina — Its reputation — The honey bag 

 —The venom vesicle — Description of the sting — Remedies 

 for it — Prussian remedy for the sting — Opinion of Lom- 

 bard — (Note) — Bonner not affected by the stings of bees — 

 Opinion of L'Abbe della Rocca — Hives of bees made use 

 of as instruments of war — Account of Pigneron — Only one 

 species of bees in England — -Its general character — Its 

 division of labour according to Huber — His discovery of 

 black bees — The opinion of Rennie and Kirby respecting 

 them — The existence of the black bees said by Kirby to 

 be confirmed by Thorley — The same refuted — The su- 

 perficial knowledge of Kirby in the natural history of the 

 bee — The system of Huber, in regard to the existence of 

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